Seventy-five firms were thanked yesterday for their long-standing loyalty to East Midlands Chamber*.
Between them they have been Chamber members for over 2,600 years.
The longest-standing member recognised at last night’s Chamber President’s Summer Reception was Rolls-Royce with 110 years, followed by consultancy service company Pick Everard and Flint Bishop Solicitors with 90 years each and the Belmont Hotel and Briggs Industrial Footwear with 50 years each.
All 75 firms were invited to the event, held at the Harley Gallery and Portland Collection, at the Welbeck estate, Nottinghamshire, to be presented with certificates marking their years of loyalty.
Chamber President Rob Mayo, who is also the Development Director for the Welbeck Estate, presented certificates to those long-serving members at the Summer Reception, thanking each for their loyalty.
He told them: “Now, more than ever, the need for businesses to unite under a single banner to ensure they have a voice in the changing face of Britain is vital. And now, more than ever, we need to celebrate and highlight the great things that businesses are doing day in and day out across the East Midlands.
“Above all, this event is about saying a huge thank you from me, on behalf of the Chamber and all of its staff and your fellow members, for your unstinting support.
He added: “It’s your support that gives us, as a Chamber, the capacity and capability to develop our products and services, to speak on behalf of the East Midlands business community in the corridors of power and to work tirelessly on behalf of everyone here today, and all those members not here too, and to bring about conditions in which businesses in the East Midlands can thrive and achieve further success.”
The finalists for the Chamber’s 2018 Business Awards were also announced at the reception.
The Chamber’s awards are the only ones locally to offer winners a chance to compete in regional and national heats of the British Chambers of Commerce Awards.
Introducing the announcements, Chamber Chief Executive Scott Knowles said: “It always gives me great pleasure to celebrate business success. It’s something that we should be shouting about from the rooftops.”
He talked about the opportunities ahead, including Brexit, Heathrow expansion, HS2 and the fourth industrial revolution and said: “Business must remain ready, able and willing to recognise and grasp those opportunities wherever and whenever they see them.
“To make sure we are ready to meet all the challenges and seize the opportunities ahead, organisations must stay sharp and focused. One way of doing that is by competing for business awards such as ours – the only regional awards judged by your peers and offering the possibility of taking your success on to the national stage of the British Chambers of Commerce Business Awards later in the year.
“Competing for business awards forces organisations to look closely at what they do, how they do it and how they can sharpen their focus by setting aside those parts of their daily activities that do not contribute to their longer-term aspirations or essential operations.”
Thanking all the sponsors for helping to make the awards possible, he then handed over to principal sponsor Mazars to announce the finalists.
The winners of the East Midlands Chamber Business Awards will be announced at gala dinners to be held in each of the three counties in September.
Winners of specific awards and the overall Business of the Year award winner for each county will automatically go through to the regional heats of the British Chambers of Commerce awards and could go on to represent the region at the BCC national awards.
Last year two local businesses, R.E.A.L Education, of Mansfield, and Retford-based iCON Aerospace Technology joined the Chamber at the BCC awards as national finalists.
A full list of winners can be found at